First of all, let me just say that The Opportunist may not be the best book ever, but it is my favorite! I’ve read this book for maybe more than 5 times and it still gets me everytime. Just to show everyone how much I love The Opportunist and its author Tarryn Fisher, let’s go back to that one time I fangirl-ed HARD over Tarryn.
Yep. I had a moment of being a photography genius that made Tarryn notice me.
This is my favorite book simply because it hits home. I felt like I was reading my own life story, my past and my future, and I think it’s really weird that a friend even pointed it out me. Reading about Olivia Kaspen gave me a heads up on how things would turn out and I tend to read the book over and over to remind myself that I can be a better version of her if I tried.
So here goes a sob story on how I am a living Olivia Kaspen:
I entered college with a pre-law course. I was serious with my studies, I made sure that every semester would end without any worries that I would fail a subject and I often get the highest grades in my accounting subjects. That was never my goal, but that’s how serious I was with studying. Unlike Olivia, I lucked out on the Family side. I have my mom, brother, and sisters to provide me with EVERYTHING. And everything is also why I am doing my best. I never gave them a reason to take everything from me. With the hope of being the perfect daughter, I never even acknowledged the thought of being in a relationship. And that, my friends, is how I lost him.
I ignored the guy who makes an effort just to show me he cared. I loved him, but treated him as a friend. And like Olivia, I lost him because I was too closeminded to hear him out. Currently, I am kicking ass at work, juggling one client and another, and still thinking of how things would turn out if I did things differently. Unlike Olivia, my Caleb Drake hasn’t shown up yet at a nearby store with an amnesia and an opportunity to take him back. I think he never will so I guess that’s it for my similarities with her and her relationship with Caleb Drake.
Now here’s the real reason I wanted to be her: She took a risk and made a step towards her dream of becoming a lawyer.
I have been toying with the idea of being a lawyer for more than 7 years now. I don’t know how it suddenly came to me, but I was so sure with it that I allowed myself to take up Accountancy instead of Psychology, which was what I really wanted that time. Everyone around me KNOWS that I will be a lawyer someday. Everyone just believes. Except for me.
Honestly, I don’t think I can do it. God, it feels good to finally say that. I don’t think that I am brave enough to enter law school. I was never a risk taker, I always stay in my comfort zone and panic everytime I go out of it. I never start doing something which I don’t think I will get to finish. I hate uncertainties, I hate surprises, I hate the feeling of not knowing. So the thought of leaving my current work and looking for a new one that can conveniently accommodate my plans to study is something that I do not want to entertain.
So that’s why and how I wanted to be Olivia. I wanted to be as brave as her. I wanted to be the badass girl who fights for what she wants. I wanted to be loved like how Caleb loved her. I wanted to be a lawyer who wins her cases by being the smart and creative girl that she is. I wanted to be someone who is willing to risk everything and face all of life’s uncertainties just to achieve her dreams.
Thank you so much, Tarryn Fisher, for introducing me to someone so inspiring. Others definitely do not see this book the way I see it, but I am thankful that I have The Opportunist.
